Baked Alaska Cookies: They're hot, they're cool!

Doesn’t the mere mention of Baked Alaska make you think of tuxedos, gowns, lobster, and crystal flutes of champagne?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a baker say “Gee, it’s rainy and I’d love to whip up a warm batch of Baked Alaska” or ” The cookout is this weekend, I think I’ll bring Baked Alaska”. It just doesn’t mesh. UNTIL NOW!

True Baked Alaska is a special occasion treat, as the preparation is quite involved. You need to bake a sponge cake base and soak it with spirit-laden simple syrup. You then line a deep bowl with the cake, pack in the softened ice cream (usually two flavors), and finish with more cake. The cake is frozen for several hours, then topped with a meringue and broiled until the meringue is browned. Sometimes alcohol is poured over the whole Alaska flambé style, and lit for presentation tableside. No wonder so many people have never had this amazing dessert – it’s a labor of love for sure!

My fellow KAF bakers Susan Reid and Allison Furbish published a wonderful step-by-step recipe for traditional Baked Alaska in the Summer 2010 issue of our newsletter, The Baking Sheet. So many times we all say “great minds think alike” and it’s too true in this case. Just around the same time, I had started thinking about an easy version of Baked Alaska to satisfy my craving for toasted meringue.

Enter the Baked Alaska Cookie! I knew I wanted a recipe for individual servings, more golden brown goodness per person. I knew too that a more solid base than cake was going to be needed to make the dessert portable. Brownies seemed too heavy, but sugar cookies hit just the right note. Sturdy, crunchy, and crisp would be a great counterpoint to the cold, creamy ice cream and the soft, warm meringue.

The best thing about the recipe? You can tailor it to your favorite flavors and recipes. I used our Holiday Butter Cookie recipe, and also used our Guaranteed Sugar Cookie recipe; both worked great. If you have a family favorite that makes a nice sturdy cookie, by all means, use it!

The ice cream can be homemade or store-bought depending on your tastes and timetable. I really wanted Neapolitan and Andrea delivered. You GO girl!

It’s important to make the meringue fresh the day you serve the Baked Alaska Cookies, but meringue is so quick and easy it won’t break the bank or your schedule.

So keep the ball gown in the closet, throw on your jammies and let’s make Baked Alaska Cookies.

Roll your chosen cookie dough out to between 1/4” and 3/8”. Too thin and your cookie will shatter when served, rather than breaking crisply.

Cookie size is up to you, depending on how many guests you need to serve. I found this 3” round cutter to be perfect for making a dozen individual Alaskas.

Remember to plan out the best way to arrange your shapes for a minimum of scraps. Chilling the scraps before re-rolling also lessens the chance of a tough cookie on the second round.

Leaving plenty of space between cookies ensures even air flow and even browning.

Bake the cookies until they just begin to brown around the edges. Again, overbaked cookies will tend to shatter instead of breaking nicely under the fork when served.

Don’t worry about a few bubbles; those will be covered with ice cream and meringue. I can’t wait!

While the cookies cool, let’s prepare the ice cream filling.

You’ll need a parchment-lined sheet or pan to put the ice cream scoops on in the freezer. Our freezer here is quite full at the moment, so I opted for a 9” x 13” pan. Set it on the parchment and trace with a pencil to get the correct size to line the bottom of the pan. Cut with your trusty safety scissors.

Using your flavor of choice, scoop the ice cream while it is slightly soft, about 10 minutes at room temperature. Use a straight firm tool, like a bench knife to level the bottom of the scoop. This will ensure that the scoop sits fairly evenly on the cookie.

You can leave the scoops plain or for an extra special treat, you can fill them with another ice cream flavor or in this case, fresh plump cherries (pitted, please).

Hollow out a depression in the scoop with a spoon or your thumb. No licking, please!

Add the cherry or other center, pressing down into the ice cream.

Spread a bit of extra ice cream over the filling, and smooth the bottom out again.

Place the scoops on your parchment-lined sheet and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to freeze solid.

I really love how the Neapolitan (or VanChocStraw if you’re Susan Reid’s brothers) ice cream gives you so many different choices in one container. What a great surprise it will be for each person to see their own personal mix inside their dessert.

Baked Alaska just wouldn’t be Baked Alaska without the toasted meringue. Let’s get whippin’!

Pour the sugar water into the bowl of your stand mixer and add 1/4 cup of meringue powder. Stir to moisten and dissolve the powder, then gradually increase the speed and whip the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes, until peaks form.

*This handy meringue recipe is printed right on the package of powder, so you’ll never lose it!

I like these medium-stiff peaks best. You get the nicely formed peaks, but also a bit of softness at the points that will toast up beautifully.

At this point, you can cover the meringue bowl with a damp cloth for up to an hour. Re-whip for 20-30 seconds or so to fluff up before using.

Cookies? Check. Ice cream? Check. Meringue? Check. Let’s assemble!

Top each cookie with a frozen ice cream scoop.

Holding the cookie, apply a generous amount of meringue and spread to cover the ice cream. Did I mention this time how much I use my nylon spreaders? They’re perfect for spreading anything.

Be sure that the meringue completely covers the ice cream and seals down to the edge of the cookie.

A creamy dreamy dome of goodness!

If you want to really be fancy-pants, you can pipe your meringue with a star tip or other design. Again be sure to pipe all the way down to the cookie and cover all of the ice cream.

So try stars…

…or swirls. This reminded me of vanilla soft serve, but will soon be much toastier.

Freeze the meringued Alaskas for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up the ice cream before you break out the fire.

I think a cook’s torch is one of those kitchen tools that definitely cross the line into kitchen toys. Not toys you’d share with the little ones, but toys that bring a smile to your face when you know you get to use them in the kitchen. Come on now, who doesn’t like to play with a little bit of fire?

So, how do you use this bad boy?

On the back face, you’ll pull down the black switch under the red button with your thumb, locking it into place.

Push the red button with your thumb and poof, “Flame on!”

The nice safety features of the torch are that if you remove your thumb, it will instantly go out, and lock. You’ll need to repeat the whole process to get a flame again.

You can use the silver button on the side to get a continuous flame if needed, too.

To practice your toasting technique, chose one Alaska to sacrifice. Andrea and I decided this um, unattractive one would forfeit its snowy exterior to our mad toasting skills.

You’ll soon be able to gauge how close or far you need to be, and how fast or slow you need to move the flame to get the perfect golden brown color.

If you don’t have a cook’s torch you can borrow your spouse’s blowtorch from the basement (that’s actually what they use in most restaurants) or you can place a tray of Baked Alaskas under the broiler for about 3 minutes or until golden browned.

PJ’s photography is killer and she captured the blue flame perfectly as it toasted this swirly beauty.

To serve, you can simply give each guest their personal Baked Alaska on a plate, or you can cut a small section out first for an ohhh and ahhh factor. Using a sharp serrated knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean really helps. Thanks, Sue Gray, for the tip.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Toasted meringue, warm on the outside and creamy on the inside covering cold, delicious ice cream; and finally the crisp snap of the cookie to melt in your mouth. A treasure of a cherry in the center and it’s truly a treat of Alaskan-sized flavor in a Vermont-sized package.

Just a gentle reminder, there’s no printable version for this technique. Use your favorite cookie, favorite ice cream, and meringue – then enjoy!

MaryJane Robbins grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Vermont 20 years ago. After teaching young children for 15 years, she changed careers and joined King Arthur Flour in 2005. MaryJane began working on King Arthur Flour's baker’s hotline in 2006, and the blog team ...

My mom did a lot of entertaining and Baked Alaska was one of her signature desserts. We always knew when it was on the menu because she’d make a trip out to the highway to the Howard Johnson’s for raspberry sherbet. (Kids nowadays can’t imagine a time when the grocery store only carried about a half-dozen flavors of ice cream!)My brother and I always loved the drama of extinguishing the lights in anticipation of the flambeed sweet finale.

OH, man. Hojo’s sherbet was the best! I remember my dad getting it for dessert when we were kids. You could tell he didn’t want to share much, it was that good. Thanks for sharing. ~ MaryJane

I LOVE meringue. I’m not much of a cherry fan, but I’d easily down one of these little treats (besides: I think there’s more meringue and ice cream than cherry).

“PJ’s photography is killer” I agree! I love photography–in fact I’m majoring in it for the next three years (two-year diploma and one-year advanced diploma) at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.I’m definitely still working on my photo skills. After two years, they are getting better, so I have hope. I’ve been know to practice my “skills” during the late night shift by taking photos of the fake donuts and cake on my desk. ~ MaryJane

Please, please stop treating the people who enjoy all the wonderful things you make in your kitchens like little children. Now we can’t use regular scissors but must use childrens safety scissors. It’s a wonder you allow us to use a torch without adult supervision !! I taught baking for 28 yrs, and would never consider talking down to my students like you do to your customers. I still like to learn and and try new things all the time. Keep up the good work. Thank you.HI Joan,
Sorry the joke wasn’t a little clearer. I taught young children for many years, and I’m the only one in the test kitchen whose standard kitchen shears are safety scissors from the dollar store instead of true kitchen shears. You can certainly use any kind you wish to cut your parchment paper. ~ MaryJane

Hi,
Sometimes I am asked to prepare desserts for our church’s dessert theater. My question is, can the meringue topped ice cream be frozen, then removed from the freezer then torched and served? I would love to serve this at our next desert theater, but we serve about 500 people over a three day period, and I need to be able to get it done without having to top each one with meringue each day during the event. Love KAF!
Thanks,
Bernadette

P.S. I wish I could save this to my recipe box, but I don’t see that option…rats.Hi Bernadette,
You can absolutely make these ahead of time, meringue and all. Then just remove the number you need and broil several at a time for serving. You don’t want to let them sit out for more than 5-10 minutes before broiling and serving, or the ice cream will begin to melt. Good luck! ~ MaryJane

Hi, MaryJane: What a nifty idea. Can you tell me more about timing, meaning, how long do you have before the final product starts to melt, and how would one serve this at a dinner? Does the host excuse his/herself after dinner and torch away in preparation for dessert? Getting my KAF e-mail is always a bright spot in my day. Thank you –KPHi Kristin,
If I were serving these for dessert for a nice sit down dinner with friends, I would prepare them the day before, meringue and all, then freeze. When we were ready to have dessert, I’d put the frozen Alaskas on a serving tray and bring it to the table with the torch and let the guests be part of the fun. Each person could torch their own, or you could do them. Using different ice creams would be fun, each person would be surprised at first bite. Hope this helps! ~ MaryJane

I’ve always been fascinated by baked Alaska since I was a child browsing through my mother’s Better Homes & Gardens cook. I’ve always wished I had a reason to make it, but it seems so time consuming and ‘fancy’ but I LOVE this idea of making individual small sized portions! I see these in my near future Cheers and thanks for another awesome recipe!Have fun Jayme! ~ MaryJane

I just had to post a comment.
I have never had a problem with the dialog you put into your instructions. I find them fun and entertaining as well as wonderfully helpful and informative. I look forward to each and every new one that comes out. Please keep up the good work!!!Glad you are enjoying the blogs Renee. Thanks for sharing. ~ MaryJane

Hearing about them and NOW seeing them! How very stupendous! On my MUST MAKE list, soonest! I’ll have to acquire a few items from KAF before I can really torch them and meriangue powder…but hey, I’ll be ordering soonest – so these are a must try delight! Seems to cry out for some decadent Ben & Jerrys flavor: I mean, you’re making a special treat so hey hey hey, no place for “everyday” ice cream for me!!!! LOL

Keep up the creations, you keep me baking!Thanks Paul,
I’d try Marsha Marsha Marshmallow, or maybe the Mint Cookie. Mint meringues are one of my favorite things. Have fun and hugs to Toby and Johnny. ~ MaryJane

I had to refer to the instruction sheet on how to use my cooking torch (What!? Clicking the button isn’t working!!) and then went outside with a friend to “test” it on pieces of grass, flowers, and whatever else we could find. Sounds like I need adult supervision and safety scissors..

To be honest – these simple explanations have been wonderful for us where I work. We have many coworkers here who don’t know how to bake and/or are non-native English speakers. Thank you for making everything so easy to understand.

Sounds fun! You know, I use safety scissors in the kitchen a lot, mainly because my kitchen shears have a way of disappearing when I need them! I don’t find your blog entries condescending at all – I’m a fairly competent baker but always learn something from your posts. Thanks, KAF bloggers!Hi Victoria,
Yes, that’s another reason I keep the small scissors around. It’s easy to know which pair is mine, and they are easy replaced for just a dollar! ~ MaryJane

I love this idea – individual Baked Alaska Cookies. I will definitely be trying this one soon.

For what it’s worth, I got the joke (safety scissors) loud and clear. One of the reasons I enjoy reading your Banter posts so much is that they read like a good friend is talking you through the steps. Keep it up.

These would be a super special dessert treat for my catering customers, especially made in tiny size (say a 1 1/2 inch cookie, with everything else scaled to match). I’m thinking a brandied cherry half for the center and dark chocolate ice cream, maybe drizzling a bit of chocolate sauce on the toasted meringues as they are being served..or toasted coconut, or nuts or.. you really have the creative juices flowing on this one, thanks!Oh, Nancy, wouldn’t they be thrilled? Baby Baked Alaska would make any party feel extra special. Send pics along if you do this, I’d love to see how they turn out. ~ MaryJane

Never having made baked Alaska, I’m wondering – doyou serve these right away so you have the contrast of the hot and cold? or can you store them in the freezer?Hi Sue,
Yes, you do serve them right after you torch them for the hot/cold sensation. If you don’t want to serve all of them at once, only torch the ones you will be eating and keep the rest in the freezer. It makes a nice romantic dessert for two while you and your sweetie watch Shark Week on Discovery Channel. (who, me? ) ~ MaryJane

I love the writing style used here. “Andrea and I decided this um, unattractive one would forfeit its snowy exterior to our mad toasting skills.” Yes, that’s right, she said ‘mad toasting skills’. Now really, if you can’t find that line funny, you’re just without any sense of humor.

Please keep up the relaxed banter in your writing. Don’t change, unless you opt to try even more outrageous stuff.

You make it fun just to read of your baking adventures. I may never bake these gems, but you’ve at least entertained me, and you make me WANT to try them. I call that success for you.

I love Baked Alaska, and alas do not have time to make it much at all. This is going to be such a fun and portion controlled substitute. Thanks for the great idea! I think I might make a party out of these, have everyone bring their favorite ice cream, and we can make them all together. My friends love it when I have a make it yourself party. Now I am excited!Fantastic idea Lish! Be sure to plan out a little time for the scoops to freeze solid before assembly, and a bit of time for the meringue to freeze up too. I’m sure you and the pals can find plenty to keep yourselves entertained. ~MaryJane

Woohoo! I once used my dad’s big torch from the garage to do the sugar tops on some creme brules. It was awesome fun. Just for, uh, research purposes, did you happen to try a version of these with alcohol? Or maybe that wouldn’t quite work in this format.

Also, it’s usually National Geographic channel for us. (grin)Hi Erin,
I didn’t try the flambé with these little guys, but I’m guessing it would work just fine. Truth be told, I’m a bit afraid to
flambé. Anyone have any advice? ~ MaryJane

Baking Banter recipes are the highlight of my week. I can’t wait to try this baked Alaska and cool off from the heat! I’ll have to order a cook’s torch to add to my kitchen “tool/toy” collection, so can I request an easy vanilla bean creme brulee be next on the list of recipes?! Thanks so much and don’t change a thing about the joking tone of your blogs!

MaryJane, how did you know that I bought a torch just this very weekend? (Of course, I didn’t realize that it comes without butane, so I had to improvise on the creme brulee….) As I was hopelessly clicking the lighter button with no response, and grumpily eyeballing the teeny-tiny print on the box about the butane, buyer’s remorse made me wonder what I was going to do with the thing. And then you post this!Great minds think alike, eh? Try the local hardware store for the butane. Can’t wait to see how you use it with soup, tee hee. ~ MaryJane

These sound amazing! I’ve always wanted to try baked Alaska but never got around to it. I think I will try these with my own version of the vanilla dreams; I call them “almond dreams”. These will be so much fun to do for a party! Can’t wait to try them.Sounds delightful! Have fun. ~ MaryJane

To extend the romantic desserts for just the two of us….would these hold up frozen with the meringue for say, a week, before taking out a couple at a time to toast? Maybe stored in a freezer bag?Absolutely! We did that at home and it worked just fine. ~ MaryJane

Lovely recipe – sounds like fun, looks fantastic and allows for so much variation!

Being somewhat slow on the computer…is there a way to save this “banter” to a file on my computer for future reference, or do I need to go out and get a blowtorch and ice cream today?? Thanks!Hi Jacqueline,
No worries, we save ‘em for you. The blog will always be available to access on our site. Depending on which browser you use (Internet Explorer, or Firefox, etc.) just go to the first page of the Baked Alaska Cookie blog, then at the top of your screen, near the window where you type in the website address, look for something like “favorites” or “bookmarks”. Click on that, and you can add that particular page. You can name it whatever you want, then when you want to go back to it, just open your favorites or your bookmarks and click on it to take you right there.
Hope this helps. ~ MaryJane

Great! It’s my birthday tomorrow and since the family is taking me to dinner tonight, I think I’ll make these tomorrow night for my own celebration with my hubby. something sweet will make 70 go down a lot easier!

All together now… Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear sweet Carrollyn, happy birthday to you! Have wonderful day with your family and a special evening sharing treats with your hubby.
~ MaryJane (and everyone else who sang)

MaryJane, don’t change a bit! It’s fun reading your lighthearted instructions! I never noticed anything wrong with the “trusty safety scissors” expression and most of us certainly would not take that kind of thing personally.
Keep on having lighthearted fun and enjoy writing without having to worry about every word or joke or obsess about whom you might offend. Life is short, and this is a fun and informative blog. Thank you for all your wonderful work! I”m not a dessert baker but can’t wait to try these special treats!

Your recipes are varied and inspired…as is your writing!!! I soooo look forward to the blog recipes as well as the accompanying witty descriptions. Thank you for making the learning entertaining as well as informative! (And NOW I have a reason to get one of those nifty torches!)Go for it Beth! Torches are great for impromptu s’mores fests too!
~ MaryJane

MaryJane, if you are scared to flambe, try this, which is probably easier with a mini-alaska anyway. Make sure the meringue top is rounded, not peaked, at the top, with enough of a flat spot to hold a sugar cube. Soak the cube with some high-proof alcohol (rum, for instance) and set atop the cake. With a long match, ignite the soaked sugar cube. Not as dramatic as a flambe, but you’ll get a small flame to go with your small cake.OH, thank you so much! I’ve seen the sugar cube thing done before, but never thought to use it that way. I really appreciate it! ~ MaryJane

These look REALLY good! There’s just my husband and me, so if I froze them, how long in a heavy-duty freezer bag would they keep? A couple weeks or a month? (I know, I know, who would leave them in the freezer that long?)

Also – if you don’t have the mergingue powder, can you make your own or wouldn’t it be the same? I have made lemon meringue pies, so I was wondering if I could use the same meringue recipe or is this different? Would I be able to freeze them?

If not, guess I better put the meringue powder on my next order…Hi Adele,
I’d say you can get up to 3 weeks with freezing the finished Alaskas. It makes a fairly small amount, so have some friends come over for dessert and coffee if you can’t eat them all. Won’t they be impressed with you!
For the meringue, you can absolutely use your favorite meringue recipe. The powder is just a handy dandy way get meringue in a snap. Have fun! ~ MaryJane

Baked Alaska is my absolute hands-down favorite dessert! I learned how to make it in Culinary School and I love to “wow” people when they come over for dinner. : ) Why learn how to be a chef if you can’t show off, right?
I often cut out rounds of Chocolate Decadence for the base. It’s great because you get the concept of a brownie without all of the thinkness or being crumbly. The darker less sweet chocolate flavor of it is also a great contrast to the meringue and ice cream.The Chocolate Decadence cake base sounds like an amazing twist on this. Guess what I’m gonna try next week!?
Thanks for sharing. ~ MaryJane

There is a way to save and print this wonderful Baked Alaska .
First, Highlight everything you wish to save .
You can use the shortcut Ctrl A and everything will be highlighted ( it will turn blue)
Then do a Ctrl C which will copy it.
Open a new document in your word processing program and do a Ctrl V or paste and it will appear in your new document which you can now edit and save.
I can hardly wait to make miniature Baked Alaskas. I give 3 Chili Parties each year at Christmas. I usually have at least 12 different miniature desserts. This will really WOW them!Thanks for sharing the copy and paste tips Nancy. The Chili parties sound like fun too. ~ MaryJane

Those look soooooooo good! I plan on making them sometime this weekend. I have a few questions….I don’t have any powdered egg whites how would I sub fresh egg whites for them? and…About how many little baked alaskas does this recipe make? Thanks!

To replace the meringue powder, you’ll make the meringue with 4 egg whites and the 3/4 cup of sugar, no need for the water. This amount will handle about 8 of these little treats. Frank @ KAF.

The thought occurred to me that you could use plain sugar cookies from your local bakery if in a hurry. I’d use a mini scoop and place them directly onto the cookie and place them all on a tray to chill out in the freezer for an hour or two. Just before serving, I’d make the meringue and pipe onto each mini dessert and then quickly brown with the torch.

For friends I made a very similar dessert last year (June). It is still being talked about. The small individual portion was the big hi-light. And I excused myself from the table and took them from the freezer where they had been for about 30 minutes and placed into the oven. The coffee was ready when the Joharie Dessert was so the finale was served in about 5 minutes amid much speculation and anticipation. I cheated big time with store bought cookies and ice cream but at home I make ice cream regularly and if I had a big freezer would have portions ready prepared for the unexpected wow.
Tried flambe for family thanksgiving as a teen and set the tablecloth on fire. Never tried again, but since my daughter has a glass topped table – and safety sissors…

Those look soooo good! I’m planning on making them this weekend using the land o lakes sugar cookie recipe. I have a few questions…..about how many baked alaskas does this make and I don’t have any merange powder so could I just make a merange out of a couple egg whites, and sugar? thanks KAF!

Yes, for a fresh meringue, use 4 whites and the 3/4 cup of sugar. No need for the water. Frank @ KAF.

I have used an industrial heat gun to toast a baked alaska and finish the creme brulee. The gun I have is for removing paint, etc. I gets amazingly hot when on the hottest setting.

It takes a tiny bit longer than a blow torch, but there is no open flame. I have also used it to make s’mores when no one was looking, (don’t tell on me)Way to think outside of the box, Ed. We won’t tell the Food Police! ~ MaryJane

Anybody who needs to cook a lot of these should be using the regular oven method, not a torch. Preheat the oven as hot as it will go (450-500F). The completely topped cookies should be frozen solid and should go onto a cookie sheet with a little space in between. Watch the time–after 2 minutes start checking for the meringue to be brown on top. Time depends on how big your cookies are, how solidly frozen they were, and how many of them you stuff in at once.

Haven’t had lunch yet…help! Hoping to move to an elderly-folk-farm soon and with two meals being served expect I will enjoy playing with my food instead of feeling too rushed with dinner to do a lovely dessert. My only complaint is – PULEEZE don”t say “gonna” and “gotta” and such. The newspapers are bad enough – let’s keep our language as good as the cooking. Best to you all; regretably wqon’t be near KA to drop in
(Maybe “gimme” is OK!).

I went on an Alaska cruise last May, and the tradition is to serve Baked Alaska on the last formal night in the dining room. It is quite the sight – all of the cooks and chefs and the waiters parade around the dining room with their Baked Alaska held high (for safety reasons, they use electric candles rather than real flambe).

It got really quiet in the dining room after they started serving – as it turned out, they had mixed up salt and sugar cannisters and the meringue was…. interesting.

I just made these today and they were soooo yummy!!! I made a total of 8…4 with strawberry ice cream, and 4 with chocolate ice cream. I used the Land o’ Lakes sugar cookie recipe. Since I didn’t have meringue powder I just used 4 egg whites, 1/2 tsp. cream tartar, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 3/4 cup sugar. I broiled them and they turned out great. I really liked how easy these were to make, but they look like they took a whole day to make. Today my family of 4 ate the strawberry ones, and tommoro we will eat the chocolate baked alaskas. Thanks for the brilliant idea KAF!So glad to hear it Princess! My hubby was just asking when I was going to make these again. ~ MaryJane

I am SOOO making this baked alaska! Now THIS is what I call a sensation! The last time i did the baked alaska thing I decided it was waaaay to much work for FAST melting sensations. OK OK! Now I HAVE to get a torch! MarrryJaane could you PLEEEEEASE write my husband and tell him the TEACHER (Mrs. MaryJane) SAID I HAVE to have a torch for KAF school or I cant do my project??? I already have my safety scissors (HIGH CLASS with a monkey on them (!) )so i don’t need those… heh heh
My daughter and I almost fell out of our chairs we were laughing so hard when you said “trusty safety scissors” and OMG I LOVED the one about the ugly baked alaska being sacrificed to the torch for the “mad toasting skills”!!!! LOL 8^D.
We have very stressful situations and we thrive on your newsletter and your “lingo” my dear! PLEASE DONT EVER CHANGE A S-I-N-G-L-E THING!!!!
P.S. MaryJane you must have SOME dollar store where you are! My scissors wouldn’t cut melted butter-much less paper!! Had to go pay 4 bucks at CVS for MY safety scissors albeit FANCY safety scissors ! LOL. God bless you guys and KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK because you are an INSPIRATION to all of us scaredy cats out there who are too timid to try hard stuff esp, in these hard economic times when good baking goods like spices, flour etc is tooo expensive to waste on disasters! YOU make the fear of disaster a distant memory with FULL “walk thrus” that almost always make a certain success for our bravery of the trial! THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! <3Wow! Thanks for the great comment and all your enthusiastic support of our blog. Sadly, I’ve lost my beloved safety scissors (which didcome from the Dollar store) but I was able to replace them with another 4 pairs for $5.00. Not a bad deal.
Be sure to tell your hubby that I highly recommend getting a torch, and that he can play with it too. Have a great time making the cookies, and hope to see more of you here and on the community pages. ~ MaryJane

Safety scissors, check. Blow torch, check. Sense of humor, check. Love KAF and MJ, check. Another hint for the flambeeing, instead of having it rounded at the top instead of the peak (as another reviewer suggested) make a little “well” to hold the sugar cube. It will hold the cube without fear of it falling off and setting the tablecloth on fire (pictures of that would be good for the April Fools blog entry!) But don’t make the wells too deep or you will lose the little flame!! KAF makes my day, every day. Thank you.Hi Bridgid,
Thanks for the tip, and your enthusiasm. We’re so happy that we can be a part of your baking life. P.S. Just took the first April Fool’s photo for next year the other day. Honest, it wasn’t me!!! ~ MaryJane

What I would recommend is making up the cookies with the ice cream the night before and then just making up the meringue fresh the day of as meringue isn’t really meant to be held for any extended period of time. Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF